Listed are indexes and databases designed to help users research Montana death notices.
The state of Montana is one of the least densely populated states in the United States. There are more wide open spaces here than there are anywhere else and, in some areas, far less people. That means that a genealogical search can be less than ideal if you are going to try to do it all in person. Thankfully, there are other ways to accomplish the task.
Looking for Montana obituaries online can be a very simple process. You can start with the very general search “Montana obituary records”, but that will net you more than seven million results. Like you would with any kind of online search, you need to narrow your criteria down. The more information that you already have, the easier your search will be. For instance, if you know that the person died in Helena, Montana (the state capital), you can start your search there.
Having an exact date of death is not always important because there are sometimes lags in filing of the death certificate, publishing the obituaries and recording in the official register. It is a wise idea to expand your search criteria by one month if you know the date. If you only have a rough idea of the date of death, expand your search by one month before and after.
Because you are searching online for these obituaries and other records, you don’t have to be driving all over Montana. It is a waste of time and money to drive to a location only to find that it is nowhere near the right place. Save time and money by narrowing your searches down online first.
You can also search for Montana obituaries offline, at libraries and in county records departments. You are also able to mail in a request to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. You will need the request form, a copy of your identification and may need to pay a fee for this service. There are other offline resources to consider including historical society records, which may cover Montana obituaries farther back than other places. Hiring someone to help you might also be an option, saving you time and money in your efforts.
Looking for these Montana obituaries can be a lot of hard work, but once you start getting results, all of the hard work will be completely worth it. Finding the information that you needed to fill in gaps on your family tree or even to get your tree started is rewarding and something that your entire family will cherish when you are finished.
Finding Montana obituaries on the web isn't as easy as you may have hoped. This state is quite a bit behind the times when it comes to digitizing their records and notices so that anyone anywhere can view them. If you are looking for Montana obituary records, consider starting your search with the Teton County wepage on the massive GenWeb website.
GenWeb is a loose partnership of regional websites dedicated to getting more and more records and history online so that it can be preserved forever. At the time of this writing, this is really the only known source for obits in this state, however, many of the state newspapers are working hard at getting their previous issues put online.
For instance, The Lewiston News-Argus, The Missoula Independent and the Helena Independent Record are all working on getting obits from the past online, but access may be limited until their entire records are ready to view or these newspaper sites may choose to charge for access. Probably the best thing you can do is to pick up the phone and contact either a public library in the region you are looking for or a local newspaper in that area to see if they can send you a hard copy through the mail.
Listed are indexes and databases designed to help users research Montana death notices.
To be able to locate an obituary in Montana, the easiest route is to visit the research center for the state's Historical Society. However, if that is not possible, there are online resources that can be utilized. For a small fee, you can submit a request online or by mail and a staff member will go through the archives for you to see if a clipping is available.
Counties throughout the state are covered by the obituary index at the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness website. Volunteers through this organization will perform searches upon request for Montana death notices that date back as far back as there were newspapers published within the areas. The only requirement is that as much information be provided as possible.
Below is a list of Montana newspaper obituaries to aid in genealogical research.
If you're looking for obituaries for those who lived in or near Billings, Montana, the Billings Gazette may be able to help. The website for the paper makes it easy to find obituaries. Simply click on lifestyles and announcements and you will be at the correct page for their obituary listings.
HelenaIR.com is the website for those who live in Helena, Montana. The site hides the death notices underneath the news tab. Mouse over the news tab and a list of other pages will pop up. One of them will be obituaries. Click on that page and you'll be taken where you want to be.
Obituaries for those who lived in or around Missoula, Montana can be found on the Missoulian website. This website provides news and entertainment information for those in the area, as well as obituaries. Obituaries are listed under the news and local news tabs on the top of the page.
The Montana Standard is your source for news if you live in, or around, Southwest Montana. The site lists news, sports, and entertainment, and obituaries. To access obituaries, simply click on the tab that says "obits" on the top of the page and you'll be brought to the correct site.
News for Columbus, Montana is brought thanks to the Stillwater County News site. This site lists news, information about schools and sports, and obituaries. To access them, click on the word "obits" on the top of the page and you will be brought directly to the correct page to read the obituaries of the day.
The Western News is the source for news and information for those living in or around Libby, Montana. Obituaries are easily found on the website for the paper – simply click on the news tab on the top of the page and you will be able to select obituaries from the menu.
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